The Tale of Six Adventurers 'Blast to the Past'
by Md Muazzam From Brunei
Summary: In the dark night of a beautiful cresent moon, an unsuspecting acolyte protecting a baby seek refuge from a band of knights who might kill them...
1. How it all began

_With a small number of strangers in the same bedroom as you are in, wanting to know what kind of story would the writer read out. One of them started swearing and cursing the author harshly. Such a pity that the author is late, the curser must have waited for a very long time._

_At that precise moment, the door lock starts to shift and turn, the wooden door opened to reveal a familiar face. "Where the heck have you been!" the girl, who leaned on the wall in front of you, starts to approach the surprised author who drops his file, papers and a book, stammering and shakily pointing his finger to everyone in the room, "Ho…how do you all come inside my room?"_

"_That is not important, Muazzam!" another person starts to pipe up in a corner, "Why don't you come, tell us your 'wonderful' story or even give us any news at all of your progress!"_

"_Well," the author answers, frowning and bending down to scoop up his things, "Not only I am cut off from the internet the whole time since the last news I post, I also are in the process of moving to a new home and school works didn't help much at all! That's not all; my e-mail is also gone for good, so any messages sent except for the first message from __AJ Chimaera__ for the splendid tip!" No one in the room break the terrible silence so he continued. "At least I got more time to work on my first chapter and perfected it. The second chapter is on its way so don't worry." The writer pulled up the chair and sit down, taking out the book from the disorganised pile in his hand. "Sit or stand anywhere you please (Hey you! That doesn't mean you can stand on my bed!), the revelation of my epic will start now…"_

Chapter One – How it all began…

So eerie but yet so tranquil. So still and cold yet so calm and peaceful. That is how she describes the very night which will haunt her memories for the rest of her life forever.

A young teenage girl, wearing a simple dress of cream and maroon, steps out of the sanctuary of the church and into the darkness of the night in Prontera. Situated right in the centre of the continent, Prontera, the capital city of the Christian Kingdom of Rune-Midgard, houses the only official church in the whole kingdom.

The acolyte-in-training turns to her back and start to chain the main entrance. Ignoring the state of her hair (much of them stuck out of her single hair bun due to her hectic day at work), she takes a few steps back and admire the highly-decorated entrance with a tired smile. She still remembers the time when she locks the gigantic door from the inside. Before, she had gotten permission from Father Eadgar to sleep in the church on a cold and solid-hard wooden bench when she was homeless not so long ago. Now she managed to take refuge in a small house of a recently acquainted best friend, Xiang Lu.

As she started her journey to a few hours sleep on a REAL bed, she started wondering about the things that some of her fellow acolytes and priests friends did. The BAD things. At first she thinks about Brother Francis. Yes, the very person she caught making off with the donation money given to the church for the poor. She starts imagining a male acolyte with spiky brown hair, his arm deep inside the donation box near the entrance. Well at least he promised to repent and stop stealing. At once Brother Francis morphs into Sister Katherine and Brother Mao. They are kissing and hugging very passionately in the storeroom, during a mass too! They may never have noticed her presence, but still the very thought about knowing a secret like that is exciting! She giggled quietly as she steers herself into a dark alley. "Oh no! What am I thinking!" she said as she shakes the naughty thoughts away and repents again and again in the name of the Holy Lord.

Suddenly, as she lowers her head, repenting and walking at the same time, someone stumbles into her at a corner. She and the cloaked figure falls back as a second cloaked figure stops abruptly nearby to catch her breath. The acolyte opens her eyes to see a bearded man (his hood fell off his head), heavily injured, and wincing as he rubs his sore shoulder and a tired woman, her hood still on, carrying a bundle of clothes.

"Oh my God, you poor soul!" she exclaimed and instantly healing the injured with her magical skills before any of them said another word. The man's wound healed greatly, the bruise shrinking and the visible cuts grows smaller as his skin starts to reattached at the ends. "You are very fortunate that I concentrated on my 'Heal' skill far more than any other skills that I have learned…"

"Thank you for healing my husband, Izumi," the young cloaked woman says gratefully as she helps him up with her free hand.

"Wait a second! How do you know my -!" asked Izumi.

"That is not important for now," the male says urgently as he pulled his hood back up, "We have agreed to give her to the first kind soul we met."

"Yes, you are right, dear," the hooded woman motioned sadly, giving the bundle of clothes to Izumi.

Izumi curiously take the bundle of clothes only to see a baby girl sleeping cosily under a pile of lovingly-made quilted blankets. As she gazed at her milky soft face, a clattering of metal armour and steel can be heard at a distance…

"We don't have much time, please look after our baby," the mother requested desperately pulling her husband with her, "and make sure she is safe." The couple took flight into the night leaving the baffled acolyte behind.

When she hears the loud footsteps coming closer and closer, she came back to her senses and hide somewhere behind a Pepeco water-trough nearby, carrying the infant with her. It was a tense moment. She can feel the chills creeping down her spine as she sits in an uncomfortable position pulling the young child closer to her chest, waiting, waiting and waiting dreadfully for the clanking sounds as it grows louder and nearer with every step. She peeked out of her hiding place and saw silhouettes of a group of knights and crusaders led by a paladin riding on a Pepeco closing in! She immediately sink back to her previous crouching position praying and praising God and embracing the infant even closer than before. She never stops her supplications even as the rider stops in his path and directs the large fowl he was riding to her direction. As the dark shadow edges nearer and nearer to her, closing the gap between the evil being and the helpless children who could do nothing but to hope for a miracle…

She closes her eyes chanting more feverously, with sweat dripping profusely from her brow, and a strong faith which is bigger than anything imagined, in something which seems impossible to happen, for her to escape this situation and to bring the innocent child cradling in her arms to safety away from this potential threat which could slice through them as easy as a heated knife through butter. Here she felt a full sense of regret, why didn't she try to learn how to 'teleport'? The paladin finally came to a halt in front of her. "I promise to donate all of my Zeny to the church, please God deliver us from this moment and protect us from harm," she whispered it out, closing her eyes and waiting for it to come… It never came. A small splash can be heard as the Pepeco's beak was dipped into the water trough to enjoy a succulent drink. The young acolyte breathes out a sign of relief, feeling deeply grateful that he hasn't found her yet.

"Excuse me sir, may I ask a question?" one of the knight begin to ask as he starts to sit down on the pavement to have a rest, "Who exactly are we chasing and what their crimes are?"

The Leader faces the knight who talked to him and answered, "These dangerous couple we plan to capture are traitors to the king, they plan to treason His Majesty, and stirring up a revolt to overthrow him." Sister Izumi gasps to herself.

"But they are out of sight, sir. How are we going to get them?" asked another one of the infantry who is leaning on his spear.

"One of them is hurt, they can't get too far! Let us split to two groups, Sir Gawain will lead one group and I will lead the other," the paladin replied as he pulled the rein to tell the bird to finish drinking, "and which person can catch them by tonight can have some 'fun' with the lady!" His men start to cheer. The acolyte feels angry with his comments (Who would have thought the honourable king's men would even portray such behaviour?), and thankful that she heals the father to the child she is holding right now. "Sir Gawain, I thrust you will lead your men to the east," the Pepeco rider ordered, "While I will lead my men to the west!" A stout man with thick moustache begins leading a group of men to the right junction, while the red-headed armoured paladin led another group to the opposite direction.

After making sure that they are gone, the tired acolyte steps out of her hiding place and stretch her legs, making sure not to wake the baby up. The teenager bow her head low and admiring the face of the infant she was carrying. She smiles heartedly, feeling very grateful, as she whispered gently to the unwary infant, "Looks like I owe the church some money now, right?" Then she looks up to the sky and spotted a beautiful crescent moon hiding behind a number of wispy clouds which dances around with the bright stars. Yes, she will never forget this beautiful moment. Not ever.

_"So what do you think of my story?" Muazzam, the smiling story reader says happily, "Err, well?"_

_"I think we will post a review later," says a teenage boy, who sits cross legged on the floor next to you._

_"Can you promise me it will be very constructive and polite, please?" author says excitedly like a kid who is eager to receive candy and sweets._

_"We can't make promises, but we will try…" the person replied back slowly._

_"Anyway, I would like to thank the audience, my inspiration, my supporters and my helpers (especially my English teacher and my friend, __TyrantFlame__) for getting me started. Oh yeah, before I forgot why don't any of you ask my characters or me about parts that wasn't revealed in the story at the time of the story take place, which means you can't ask future questions to anyone in the story (like asking to Izumi about her death, she won't know!)," the talkative author begins to rant, "but you can ask anyone about how that person feel or thinks about something, or about something they already knew (Md Muazzam: Izumi, what is your weight? Izumi: Do you think I would really tell you THAT!). The reply will be given by any person you request for, hopefully in the end of the next chapter I write. This feature will continue as long as I write, but I can't guarantee that the answer will be satisfying (it depends entirely on the character themselves). Give it a try!"_

_By now almost everyone is eager to leave. The little boy standing next to you is clasping his legs together with his hands on a spot just below his belt. THIS is definitely the TIME to leave! "Oh, it's getting late!" Muazzam exclaimed, "You are all welcome to leave… (A certain kid run out of the door in a tremendous speed) and goodbye everyone! Ma'assalamah ('Go with safety!'- A Muslim goodbye) and hope to see you all again soon in the next chapter."_


	2. The Dawn of a New Life

"_Welcome back again to another chapter with me, Mohammad Muazzam as your story teller," the cross-legged author says as he sits on his bed. "My story is coming quite slow lately but I hope you will still like it. Thanks to all my audience for being with me so far, even though any of you who haven't given much of a review or a question to me or my characters," the talkative writer mentioned, "but anyway time to get the story running (not out the door!)!"_

"SHIROYUKI IZUMI!" The name rocks the kitchen of a small house, shattering the silence. The teenage acolyte winces as she sneaked through the front door and closing it carefully, hoping that the baby girl in her care, is still enjoying her slumber. Now the baby is sure to wake up!

"Where have you been? You promised to go back home earlier to help me…" her friend immediately hushed to a whisper as soon as she saw them both, "Oh… Now I understand! Tch, tch, tch… you have been very naughty, Sister! So who is the lucky father…?" (Izumi interrupted, "But…but…") Her friend continued, feeling very excited indeed, "No, let me guess…Is it that gorgeous hunk of a blacksmith we always see selling on the roadside to the left? (Izumi: "Xiang Lu, I…") Or, is it that handsome wizard I saw you talk to a few days ago? Or is it…"

"CHIN XIANG LU," Izumi muttered an angry whisper looking very red indeed. But not as red as Xiang Lu going to be! Her surprised and innocuous face turned very sour and red faster than you can say 'ouch'!

"You promised not to use my family name at ALL!" she said angrily through her gritted teeth.

"Forgive me, Xiang Lu, but you should listen to this, I have not committed any sins at all! I was on my way here until…" Sister Izumi, with the baby in hand (which strangely is still sleeping even after that heated argument!) explained her story from the tired exit from the House of God, to the dangerous encounter with the nefarious men-at-arms and her miraculous escape to safety…

Xiang Lu is very attentive and deep in thought from the start to the end. She stooped her head low with her chin resting on her curled hand, in a pensive posture, thinking, thinking…

"…where I was found by you. That's how we reach to this point of conversation. What is your opinion on this scandal?" the level-headed acolyte asked.

Xiang Lu responded slowly, "So you saw a red-haired paladin leading a brigade which is a part of the king' personal men. It must be the 'Droocke Brigade'. Yes, we should do something because of this injustice and abuse of power…"

"Should we try to report it to the king? These men would be punished accordingly to their sins and crimes," Izumi suggested wisely.

"No," Xiang Lu protested, "the best thing we can do is to help me cancel my current registration to the 'Droocke Brigade' and start finding another Brigade to join!"

"WHAT!" Sister Izumi cried. Shushed instantly by a worried friend in a white night gown next to her, she continued in a much more quiet voice but much more exasperated tone, "Why do you joined such a scum of a Brigade? And all you think about in this matter is, not to bring these vagabonds to justice, but to resign from it to suit your own need!"

"That is not what I meant!" Xiang Lu answered, feeling very mad, "Well, do you know? That about one hundred letters of petitions and complaints sent to the king, only three ever reach him! It is not difficult for them to intercept our letter of complaint and to track us down, even in this vast city!"

"Ohh…" Izumi realised a bit too late to take back and eat her own words, "Xiang Lu, I…"

"Anyway, I wish to join that team because of the reputation of that team being very chivalrous and a great upholder of 'justice'," Xiang Lu stated shamefully, "It is sickening to know that is not true at all!"

"Xiang Lu, I feel very sorry," the acolyte says slowly with every word ridden with guilt of unspeakable amount, "Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

"Well, if you let me name that baby I will forgive you…" Xiang Lu added slyly with that sinister smirk on her lips.

"WHAT!" Izumi exclaimed, and once again shushed by the swordswoman next to her. "We need to return her back to her parents as soon as we found them, do you know that!"

"I knew that," Xiang Lu snapped back, "It's just that while it is under our care, she should at least have a name! I deserved naming her especially after that blind accusation of yours."

"Fine," Sister Izumi finally gave in, "but I want to give the first part of the name."

"But it is under MY house that she will live under, so I want to give the first part of her name," Xiang Lu mooted back strongly, fighting for a cause worth arguing for! (Which is strangely just her name!)

"But I found her and save her from the blood-thirsty villains who may want to slay her," Izumi argued sturdily, not planning to give in too easily as well.

The battle of words lasted for minutes as two great people get engaged in a debate of the century. With Xiang Lu's mighty points against Shiroyuki Izumi's witty comments, the destiny of the baby is marked forever.

"So the first part of her name is 'Hikaru'. That is what we should call her with," the winner asserted.

"All right, since you promised you won't disagree with whatever name I shall put in after that," the swordswoman (who lost) announced, "I shall complete the name of 'Hikaru Xia'."

"But that sound silly and very wrong," Izumi disagreed, "Anyway why 'Xia', somehow it sounds very familiar…"

"I just like that name. It just came popping in my head and I really like it," Xiang Lu says firmly, turning her back to Izumi.

"Wait a second! Isn't that the first part of your name, Xiang Lu?" the acolyte pointed out.

"Wow, that is a nice coincident!" her friend mentioned, "No wonder it sounds very nice to my ears."

"That is no coincident and you know it!" Sister Izumi started saying, "And that is a very queer name for a girl. You should change it."

The swordswoman countered back, "I stand firm on that name and I will never change! And you promised me, not to too."

"Sometimes in life, some things can be of an exception," the acolyte tells her defensively.

And an argument is heating up again as two silly teenagers begins bickering at each other. Looks like it's a new life dawning for them all, especially the infant who (fortunately still) sleeping in between them on a kitchen table, in deep slumber with no care for the world around her.

_"Sorry for making my chapter shorter this time," the story-teller apologises, "but I promise to make it better next chapter. See you all soon! Ma'assalamah! And Goodbye everybody!_

**To my current reviews:**

**TyrantFlame: Wa'alaikumussalam, my friend. Thanks for your review and idea. Even though I haven't read your story because I am typing this offline, but I know your story will always shine! (I've heard of the anime and the game of 'Full Metal Alchemist' but I don't really know what it is about, hopefully your story is compatible to beginners too!) **


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